Why This Viral Video of a Doctor Turning a Breech Baby Is Amazing People All Over the Internet

When mom Vanessa Fisher went into labor she found herself with a problem: Her baby was breech. Ideally, babies need to be head down before a vaginal delivery and her baby was flipped the other direction. It’s not terribly uncommon — three to four percent of all babies are breech — but it does make having a vaginal birth difficult. For this reason, over 90 percent of breech babies are delivered via C-section, according to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. But Fisher decided she wanted to try something else first and she posted a video of it, which has since gone viral:

Who even knew a belly could move like that? That crazy cross between a wrestling move and straight-up magic is called an external cephalic version (ECV) and is a way of manually “flipping” the baby into the proper position.

“Prior to the [ECV] procedure, we attempted a number of other methods to turn the baby naturally,” she explained on Facebook. “Ultimately, our goal is to avoid a cesarean section by any means possible.”

And it worked! Their baby boy was born on January 16, and both mom and son are doing great according to a post by proud papa Nick Fisher.

ECVs have a pretty good success rate, turning the baby into the proper position over half the time, says Sherry Ross, MD, OBGYN, women’s health expert and author of She-ology. In some cases it doesn’t last and the baby returns to the head-up position. The procedure may be tried again, but it gets more difficult each time. And ECV is not for the faint of heart since it can be very painful and uncomfortable for the mom, Dr. Ross explains. Generally, the mother is given a small dose of medication to help her relax and make her uterus easier to manipulate, but many women still find the experience uncomfortable.

There are a few risks associated with the procedure — like preterm labor, premature rupture of membranes, fetal distress and damage to the placenta — so it’s normally performed in a hospital setting where you and the baby can be monitored throughout, Dr. Ross says. Fortunately, she adds, complications are rare and with the relatively high success rate and low risk it’s worth a try if your baby is still breech at 37 weeks and you don’t have other complications in your pregnancy.

If it doesn’t work, you still have the option of trying other methods to turn the baby or having a C-section — and there’s no shame in choosing the surgery. Remember, the whole goal is to have a healthy baby, and however way it happens is amazing.